In the spring semester of 2011, I
stared Dr. Bill Wiecking’s Green Tech class, and as a result, I became very
interested in the Energy Lab’s automation system. Throughout the spring
semester, I continued to get myself more involved in the Energy Lab and the
automation project. I planned on continuing this project in Green Tech Class,
but there were conflicts in my schedule. The purpose of this independent study
is to continue and expand on the project I just barely started last semester.

Much of the automation project is
learning about the Energy Lab, such as learning how it works, how to control
the system, and how to monitor it. Dr. Bill and I covered some of that last
semester, so that may end up being a smaller part of the project. The bigger
part of the project is monitoring the sensors placed all over campus and
recording the amounts of electricity each building uses. I will also be
brainstorming ideas to reduce the amount of energy we use per building. For
example, the
tennis center takes up 10% of the schools energy. Each light bulb is 10,000
watts and it cost $17 an hour and about $170 a day to keep the tennis courts
lit. Dr. Bill recently put sensors up in the tennis center to track the amount
of energy that is being used, and when it is being used. These lights totally
power down from 10pm till 7am. During these hours, it is impossible to turn on
the lights in the tennis center. What the school is trying to do is clean up
the sky light in the tennis center so the lights don't have to be used during the
day. We are also trying to put solar panels on the roof of the tennis center so
the courts can have its own source of electricity, and we are planning to put
in better light bulbs that use less electricity. These sensors that measure
electricity use are also set up in the IT building, but they don't work exactly
right yet. We also are planning on putting these up in GPAC. My job in this
project would be to keep track of the money and electricity HPA is saving. Dr.
Bill and I are also talking about expanding my project to “Hotel X”. I would be
doing the same thing I am doing for the school, for the “Hotel X”. As a result,
I would be the energy “guru” of the campus and hopefully, the “Hotel X.”

This wiki portfolio will serve as my final project for both semesters.
I will also be giving weekly updates with graphs and information on the sensors
to Dr. Bill and who ever else is interested in the information. These updates
will be posted regularly on my blog. On top of this, I will be meeting with Dr.
Bill at least once a week (if not more) to discuss the progress of the project,
or any questions that either of us have on the project.

This project is something I hope to continue for the rest of my high
school career. I would also like this to be a jumpstart for every environmental
project I will work on in college.